Dygma Raise First

Impressions
By ChilledNips 12/27/2020
This was not sponsored in anyway.

AT LONG LAST!
The Dygma Raise is finally here and after waiting nearly two years I've got my hands on one!

Without question at first glance, it seems the wait was well worth it. The time the Dygma team has taken
to work and rework when needed seems to show in the Raise so far.
Keep in mind these are just opinions and thoughts of an average gamer. I’m in no way a spokesperson for
Dygma or the Raise and I doubt even I will be able to use this keyboard to its full potential.

Shipment and Unboxing

Shipping itself didn't take long at all once it was actually on its way which surprised me being sent to the
U.S. from China. Upon arrival, I will note an issue that's not Dygma's fault themselves per se but if they
have an option to change what shipping company they use either here in the U.S. or in China (not sure
where this happened for sure) they may want to. The box it came in was a bit banged up from travel and
I'm guessing having other boxes stacked on top of it, but what can you do? It happens right? In addition to
that, however, is a puncture large enough to see into the box. I'm not sure if someone saw the label and
got curious or if that too was a result of the shipping (as I imagine if it had issues getting into the country
they'd have just cut it open to see) none the less it worried me a bit at first.

Below are some images of the box I recieved.

https://ibb.co/StKXqD2 https://ibb.co/HHkzYgv

Everything within the case seemed to be in order and I was fully relieved there was no physical damage to
the raise. Once the box was opened and the bubble wrap removed and stolen by my cat, I was Impressed
with the Case the board is packed in. Regarding the damage to the box, this case is absolutely how my
Raise got here in one piece (Or two, haha funny right?) without a doubt. It's very light with a tough outer
shell and a cloth feel to it. It's just solid enough to protect its contents but soft enough it's not going to
break the mouse you store in a bag with it or anything else for that matter. The inside of the case has
molded compartments for the extra components to fit underneath the Raise itself with a foam padding on
the opposite side made to fit the board and keep it from sliding within. My opinion on the case is of
course very nice!
Everything in the case:

 1 Dygma Raise Keyboard (Cherry MxRed)

 2 Palm pads
 1 Neuron
 All 3 necessary USB cables
 Custom Dygma Logo Keycap puller
 Extra various key switches to determine preference
 A user guide
 2 Dygma Logo Stickers

Set Up and RGB

As anxious as I was to try it out I quickly set up the Neuron, all the cables, and my face must have been
just as lit up as the Raise the first time I saw it. The RGBs are gorgeous! The lighting on the Neuron is the
brightest thing on my desk now. I've been using many Corsair products, among a few others, through the
time I've been PC gaming and I love my lights. The colors pop on this board and can slightly outshine my
K95 in addition to the under glow lighting which was a nice touch! I do miss seeing the light bar across
the top of my K95 however which is a small personal issue but I do feel like you miss out on the RGBs on
the top part of the under glow as from a sitting position you can't see them. The programmed lighting
effects on the Raise such as "breathing" are decent and with any RGBs, fun to watch. Although, while not
as bright, I do feel Corsair's effects can be more dazzling in their effects and I am hoping with future
updates we might get some quick flowing/rave-like or other effects. However I understand not everyone
is as attracted to what could be overly distracting lighting, so this is a small issue if any.

I won't be getting into the Bazecor software extensively as I think I need more time with it to get a handle
on its full capabilities. As far as customizing the RGBs and setting keybindings it's really couldn't be
simpler. As for now the Bazecor software seems pretty feature full yet bare bone in appearance which is
good because I get a feeling more effort went into functionality than decoration and that can always be
updated with future software versions.

Images of the RGBs - I can’t do them Justice Lol

https://ibb.co/BrN3jBq https://ibb.co/r4WV7R6

Gameplay / General Use

It was a bit concerning at first but initially, I had an issue with the USB-C cables my Raise came with.
They for a reason unknown to me were acting as if they were to lose or couldn’t hold a connection,
anytime I moved the Raise enough to move both cables it would disconnect and reconnect. Now this
wouldn’t happen during use or gameplay mind you only when I would physically lift the board or move
the cables too much, to my knowledge this isn’t a very common issue or at least I’d hope it isn’t but in
any case, USB-C cables aren’t very hard to come by and the team at Dygma got back to me about it
quickly and even offerered to send over some replacement cables no questions asked. Needless to say, I
was a happy camper.

Now on for the actual usage of the Raise itself! What can I say to do it justice? As Luis “Deilor” Sevilla
the CEO of Dygma stated in his opinion this keyboard is not for everyone, but if you’re willing to take the
time to configure the Raise to your ideal settings the options you have at your disposal seem limitless.
The Raise’s size may fool you but of course, every key is individually mappable to what your heart
desires! All that means it has great customization features standard to any other high-end keyboard on the
market really but it’s the other bells and whistles that will get you hooked.

 What?! There’s room on my desk now?! - I didn’t grasp just how much space the Raise saves my
desk until it arrived. WOW. I can game with the left half and pull the right one down when I need
to type and even if I have both in front of me the split feature of the raise opens the center of the
desk for anything from other electronics like a Stream Deck, to the late-night snack ( Just don’t
get any on the Raise!) or just admire how much cleaner your set up looks! https://ibb.co/P9Xqv9v
 It’s comfortable! - I grew up learning percussion in school and I’ve done my fair share of heavy
metal drum solos. What’s that got to do with this? Well, being a drummer takes a toll on your
wrists over time if you’re not careful. Even if you are there’s no guarantee you’ll avoid even
minor wear. I’m one of those people who can game for hours on end if I have the time to do so, so
at the end of a day of gaming, it’s not a great feeling having aches and pains by the end of it.
Being able to angle both sides of the keyboard to fit how my arms naturally rest has been a
lifesaver for this so far! Keep in mind I’ve only been using the Raise for a bit over a week now
but I’ve not had any discomfort during or after gameplay!
 Extra Thumb Keys! - This is probably the greatest feature of the Raise to me. The ability to have
EXTRA options ready to go utilizing the thumbs can be a secret weapon in any game you’re
playing. I pair the Raise with the Swiftpoint Z gaming mouse (no affiliation) because I love not
only extra buttons but the strategic advantage of their placement, so the thumb keys are my most
beloved feature so far.

I wound up getting into some of my favorite games like DayZ, Escape from Tarkov, Ring of Elysium, and
for the heck of it, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. My Raise is fitted with Cherry MxRed switches and
coming from a Corsair K95 that has what they call “Speed” switches (I believe they’re just called silvers
for everyone else) it was a great transition into more fluid gameplay. I would tend to “Fat finger” on the
silver switches so the Reds are a welcomed respite and if Reds aren’t your cup of tea you can just pop in
some different switches, although I do believe the Raise is sold with a fair option of switches initially this
gives future proofing to the Raise shoud you develop a need for another type of switch. Overall the
gameplay was fluid and I never got the sense of any sort of delay due to the Neuron being there. Bottom
line is I think this keyboard will be as responsive and as great as you make it yourself.

One thing I was worried about was for games like Dayz, and Escape from Tarkov which the F keys are
vital or at least useful for in-game communication, how was I supposed to hit them as quickly missing
those keys on the Raise? Well, how about even quicker? With the option of holding down a key to have it
temporarily shift to another customized layer, I can set all my F keys to be even closer than normal by
utilizing the standard keys on that second layer with custom binds! I can effectively use them faster than I
was previously by reaching for one of the standard F keys on my K95. Now I’m no professional gamer
but this is an example of how with time and patience the Raise can be an effective gaming weapon in any
who can take the time to customize it to their arsenal. Now imagine that same potential with this keyboard
and using it with any sort of photo or video editing software. It could potentially increase the ease of use
and productivity once you get past the learning curve of any new bindings!
That’s about it for the ramblings about this keyboard that I can do for now, of which I in no way intend
for this to be a buyers guide, a final word on if you should purchase one or even if the Raise is right for
you in the first place, but these are the two cents of an average gamer who’s sure the Raise with time will
continue to surprise him. The Dygma Raise was, in my opinion, definitely worth the wait for those of us
who preordered it!